Newsletter

Who to watch on the middle school runs

On the middle school cross country season to date no one has posted faster times than Juneau Charter School’s Erin Wallace for the girls and Dzantik’i Heeni’s Tim McKenna for the boys. Wallace boasts a 10:38 for 3K (roughly 1.9 miles), faster than anyone this season, including McKenna’s 10:46.

Unfortunately we won’t see the two at the same event as Juneau Charter and Montessori schools will race at Sandy Beach today and DZ and Floyd Dryden will run at DZ. Starting time for both meets are at 3:30 p.m.

Wallace is posting impressive numbers this season and will be a runner to watch for four years in high school. Sixth-graders Makenna Graham and Reece Bleakley from Floyd Dryden and DZ’s Mariana Bell, Anna Iverson and Ava Meade will make a challenge, just not against Wallace due to the separate races. DZ’s Nikki Box, Montessori’s Leah Neyhart and FD’s Taryn Fortin are leading the seventh-grade classification but they too will not be on the same course.

Montessori’s Bryan Miramontes is a strong challenger for McKenna in the eighth grade click, as are DZ’s Josh Rivers and FD’s Shafer Suzuki with Juneau Charter’s Ernie Ramos and Montessori’s Elliot Gifford improving rapidly. Unfortunately we won’t see them all together.

Juneau Charter’s seventh graders Arne Ellefson-Carnes and Clem Taylor are ruling their classification with DZ’s Connor Norman and FD’s Cristian Batac in the mix. Nope won’t see them in a run off today.

Sixth-graders Nolan Campbell (DZ), Aaron Blust (JC) and Kwynn Jensen (FD) are a step or two off each other’s heels and will be in a showdown... well, two of them will as the other is at a different venue.

Wallace posted the fastest overall course time at DZ with an 11:13, Gastineau sixth-grader Desire Wade went 12:13, FD’s Emily Mossburg 12:30, FD’s Graham 12:25 and JC’s Eva Goering 12:47. Again, all will not be on the same course today.

McKenna has posted a best boy’s time of 11:20 on the DZ course with classmate Josh Rivers just a step behind and JC’s Ellefson-Carnes a second behind. It would be fun to watch them all compete together today. It will not happen.

Here is a comparison of times from the first race of the season at Riverbend (name, grade, sex, school, time):